I'm a physician who can wakeboard moderately but is not otherwise inclinded as an engineer or boat specialist, so i'm soliciting your help. My budget is 20-30K. My two residency friend coinvestors and I have decided on 2004/5 X2 vs for example a 2002 x10 or 2000 star. Can anyone offer a final bit advice on this topic. No we don't need 16 ppl in the boat, usually just a handful, and yes we want to wakeboard and wake surf well as intermediates . Not pro at all but hope to go out at least 2x/week. Is either boat fine or does the group prefer one? Seems the x10 may be (a touch) roomier but the wake suffers? Do others agree? We are learning toard the x-2 but maybe there are just more around.

Btw to be clear our boat will have a saltwater life (thats all we got on the san diego coast) but at least a beautiful one on the carlsbad lagoon. We have been told first we absolutely need a closed loop closing system but another MC dealer said no point if you can just get a fresh water flush kit and run it after every use. Would love a second opinion on this.

Now the meat of the issue: we are quite keen on 2 texas listings, at least on of which was on the Team Talk forum before craigslist:

Boat 2: http://houston.craigslist.org/boa/5789992328.html
Here is a VERY similar alternative. Do the 130 low hours on it concern everyone or is this just a low mileage vehicle, in a good way? And really, an extended warranty still valid 11 years after the boat was produced? To good to be true..or maybe the best boat around? Would love your thoughts/insights. We will very likely purchase one of these 2 (unless the whole group screams that we need an Xstar or X10) so any advice/thoughts/questions would be MOST helpful.

if I was going to buy used…CLOSED LOOP WOULD BE BEST FOR SALT WATER - I WOULD NOT BUY A USED BOAD THAT HAD BEEN USED IN SALT WATER WITHOUT A CLOSED LOOP. Would not buy a bought with any age to it that had been used in salt water…You can look at a lot of boats fairly new..next to the coast line…Will say something like…new repowered…G fairly new boat, why new engine…salt water is baaad…That is why they make a closed loop. my .02

I too can't agree with the person who told you it doesn't matter as long as you have an engine flush. saltwater inside the engine is going to be much harder on it and if nothing else you'll struggle finding someone who wants to buy it when it comes time to sell. The earlier models used Crusader engines for salt water and they have an excellent reputation. Not sure if you're looking at new enough models to find and Indmar SS. Either way I think you need to put closed cooling on your must list. This actually could help your price point as you can usually find these in the coastal cities and us inland people are shy of buying even closed loop salt water boat which brings the price down.

The 205V/X1/X2/X-Star hull in the years you're looking has an excellent wakeboard wake. I haven't surfed on it and haven't been on a X10 so I'll let others with more experience chime in. I will say having a 2004 and a 2006 boat I greatly prefer the 2005+ towers.

This time of year my opinion both of those boats are high priced. If your in no rush, wait a little there are great deals popping up all up and down the west coast especially northern areas since it is starting to cool down.. Yes closed loop cooling is almost a must. But you can do with out if you are very vigilant with your maintenance with a flush kit and salt away after every use and wash down your boat will stay in good shape. I lived in an area where the was salt water was prominent and I have seen both sides of the coin for inboard boats and salt water. Now saying that you can add a closed loop system TO ANY BOAT.. But you still will need to flush the heat exchanger every ride. The X2 is a great boat I would look from 2001 Xstar X1 X2 all the way up to 2005. If your not afraid to drive I know of some boats coming up couple years older than those that are 4-5k less money.

I would also look on the list for X15 can find some deal on 06 if your looking hard

Even if "flushing it after every use" worked, that would be a very tedious process everytime if you use the boat regularly. This will get old very very quickly. Flushing it 2x a week will not be fun.

Furthermore, I doubt that flushing it would really do much. Closed loop system sounds like the way to go, but salt water is still probably going to get everywhere as water does on most boats. This is why there is a bilge.

It's unfortunately that you only have salt water access. A galvanized trailer is going to be needed for that and I didn't see that in either of the pictures, just be prepared to have things wear out a little sooner and regular maintenance is going to be a must. It will be difficult to resell (if you ever do) if you say "salt-water" and "not closed loop"

I have a 2000 x-star that I absolutely love. It produces a phenomenal wake for wakeboarding and I can weight it the right way to surf. It's not a great wave for surfing, but you certainly can do it. For your budget range I would go above a 2002 x-star for the integrated ballast. I installed integrated ballast into mine but it required drilling holes in the boat and running all sorts of tubing. It's quite some work, but I get quite a bit of satisfaction working on it.

As to, fresh water flush. How good are you at, doing maintenance? Close loop, can be added, after market. Engine internals, will last longer. with closed loop.

Are you going to be trailering? If you are, you'll need an aluminum trailer. A steel trailer will
rust at an alarming rate. Even if being stored, near the coast. Don't worry... used twin axle trailers, are easy to sale. Towing at hi-way speeds is much better, with twin axles. So look into that as well.

Price is what it is. Negotiate or not. In Texas, its the end of the season. So boats are coming up, for sale. My boat is always, for sale. FOR a Price.

I wanted a salt boat when I got mine. Looked long and hard for a used one, but frankly only ones I saw that I liked were X-outfitter boats with 400+hrs in less than 2 seasons. I ended up buying new SS version as I decided theres a reason you dont see too many dealers reselling used ones. I wanted the warranty especially and MC gave 5yrs while Nautique only offers 3yr on their salt version.
All that said mine was racked after every use - this meant the engine was flushed and whole thing was sprayed down and bilge drained each time. Once a week I washed it inside and out on a bunk. After 4mos on the ocean, I decided these boats just dont cut the waves very well. Getting to and from my surf/wake zone was painful on Long Island Sound's big rollers/wakes. Perhaps on FLA's inland waterways and lagoons its better. In the end I moved it 45mins north to lake - and ended up buying a house for the boat. Long story short - IN MY OPINION, if you're buying a 10yr+ old used salt boat, buy what you can afford to lose 50% of and blast the boat out every 2 seasons for a fresh one.

If the number of folks saying closed loop hasn't convinced you, here's what you're dealing with:
In a traditional cooling system, lake/ocean water flows though the cooling passages of the engine- though the block and heads. If you're in salt water, this means salt actively in your engine, corroding the internals. A closed loop system separates the block cooling out. You run antifreeze/coolant through the block, which flows through a heat exchanger, to be cooled by the lake/salt water. Salt water never touches the inside of the engine. The only places you have salt water 'inside' are the heat exchanger (usually made out of copper/bronze/aluminum) and the risers (iron, but not too expensive or hard to replace). Replacing parts due to salt corrosion is much easier and cheaper, if it comes to it, on a closed system.

As far as time to flush, there are flush kits that mount inline to the raw water intake- connect a hose, just like you would to a hose bib, start the water, start the engine and let it idle while you clean/wipe down the rest of the boat. By the time you've wiped everything down, emptied out the garbage, unloaded your boards, towels, sprayed protectant on the seats and all the other post use cleaning steps, the engine will have been flushed for a good 30 minutes, which is more than enough. If you want, you can also add Salt Away or something similar to your flush process, which will do a better job of preventing corrosion. Bottom line, proper maintenance will have a significant impact on the longevity of the boat.

Not sure what space limitations you have, but the X30 is about the size of an XStar, but plenty roomy and can be made to throw a nice wake. Big brother to the X10. Prices for an 02-05 should be within your budget.

1. Investing with friends/family does not usually end well. No matter how close you think you are. Friends and Money and Toys don't usually mix well. From past experience... I'm sure someone will say 'nah, bro, its working fine for me and this bro.' Yeah, ok. Its simply ill-advised.

2. Unless you plan to be very diligent and flush and wash the interior and exterior after every use (however you mentioned you all are not rather engineering inclined), I would recommend finding a SS boat. I figure there should be some on the west coast for sale. Even then, you should to flush and wash after every use. These boats are built to withstand salt conditions more effectively and for longevity.

Thank you all for all for your advice and guidance! It sounds like a closed loop system will be worth researching more. For curiosity's sake, does a flush kit rinse through all parts of the motor where the salt would travel in the absence of a closed loop system. I take it from everyone's commentary that even when flushed right you still have insult to the metal.

From reading on the TT boards and internet it is apparently not easy to find the aftermarket add on for the Indmar engine in an 05 X2 and when done is only a half loop and around 5K so still some salt exposure to the engine even for that price . Does anyone have any personal experience adding it to this particular boat? Maybe I'll talk to Indmar themselves, if that's possible.

Unfortunately haven't seen an SS boat on the market in the sub 30K range And it certainly begs the question just because it's an SS boat and may be better protected it has already been in salt for a decade which probably isn't great either. Tough situation.

The one good/bad thing is that we won't hopefully need a galvanized trailer. It will be in a boat slip so no in/out. Just have to convince the neighbor to use his spot w/the lift as I'm sure the boat sitting in the salt is probably significantly worse than lifted out after use (even with sacrificial anodes on there).